Twenty-one scientists who were awarded one of Brazil’s highest honors were denied their medals on Saturday because President Zaich Bolsonaro removed from the list two colleagues whose work the government apparently disliked.
The far-right president had nominated 25 people to be honored with the National Order of Scientific Value created in the country in 1992 to recognize the significant contribution of individuals to science and technology.
However, two days later he removed two distinguished scientists from this list.
One of them is Dr. Marcus Laserda, who conducted one of the first studies on the ineffectiveness of using chloroquine against Covid-19, which Bolsonaru has long advocated for fighting the pandemic.
The other is Dr. Adel Benjaken, who was fired by the head of the HIV / AIDS department of the Brazilian Ministry of Health when Zaich Bolsonaru became president in 2019.
“This is further evidence of the persecution of scientists,” the 21 scientists wrote in an open letter, denouncing at the same time “a strategy of systematic attack on science and technology” by the current Brazilian government.
In “this act of protest, which saddens us,” these scientists said they were “outraged by the destruction of the Brazilian university system and of science and technology in general.”
The Brazilian president has been widely criticized by the scientific community for budget cuts in research and technology, the constant rejection of scientific results and the dissemination of false information, especially regarding Covid-19.
Bolsonaru, in addition to urging the use of chloroquine to treat the disease, despite evidence of its ineffectiveness, also ignored the recommendations of masked experts or restrictive measures to combat the spread of the pandemic.
Speaking to AFP, Dr Benjaken said she was “honored” by her colleagues’ decision to refuse to take their medals in the face of the government’s “inelegant treatment” of her and Marcus Lackerda.
“This was the highest price of all,” he added.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
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Source From: Capital
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